Grey Peas And Bacon

[DoubleRBar]

Happy birthday today (Thursday) to an Olympic champion who won a complete set (gold, silver, & bronze) of Olympic medals in the same event.

I can tell you that this champion did not win those Olympic medals in the hurdles.

Born 83 years ago today, our birthday individual died just twenty days before turning 81 years old.

You might already know that this person was married to an athlete who also won Olympic gold in the same event.

The son of this couple (birthday champion and spouse) also competed in the Olympic Games in this same event.

Please try and name our birthday athlete on this penultimate Thursday of May.

Good luck to you and please remember that no research is allowed.

[Olli]

Janis Lusis?

[DoubleRBar]

Janis Lusis was born in Latvia (Soviet Union) 83 years ago today. Nice going, Olli.

Janis Lusis competed in the javelin at four Olympics. He took the bronze medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games and he won the gold medal in the javelin at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. In 1972 (Munich), Lusis won the Olympic silver medal and he was eighth place in the javelin at his final Olympics in Montreal in 1976.

One of his favorite dishes was a very traditional food from Latvia called Grey Peas and Bacon. I had this dish in Latvia and it was very good.

His wife (Elvira Ozolina) won the Olympic gold medal in the javelin at the 1960 Rome Olympic Games and she was fifth place at the 1964 Tokyo Games. Their son competed in the javelin at the 2000 and the 2004 Games (he didn't make either final).

Lusis died just a little over two years ago in Latvia at the age of 80.

Thank you, Olli.

[Olli]

One of his favorite dishes was a very traditional food from Latvia called Grey Peas and Bacon. I had this dish in Latvia and it was very good.

Thank you, Olli.

Did you meet Lusis there?

I didn't know about his wife, but some of the other clues seemed to fit, so I made my guess.

Lusis was one of the first T&F stars I saw in action. That was in Helsinki EC 1971, where I was in the audience (aged 7) disappointed that Hannu Siitonen didn't get a medal (he was 4th, as in Munich next year). It sounded a bit funny that the first and second were Janis Lusis and Janis Donins (diacritics omitted). Even the bronze medalist Hanisch had a somewhat similar name.

[DoubleRBar]

No, I did not meet Lusis in Latvia, but I did meet him in Mexico City in 1968 (in the Olympic Village).